Hello,
Below is my Technology Vision and Plan based on the strategic goals shared with me by our Associate Dean and Director of The University of Akron School of Law Library. She sees technology as an important part of legal education and also legal practice. I have never done anything like this before, so I looked at all the examples posted in the Module 1 Content section. I apologize in advance if it is too long or detailed, but I tried to model it on the examples given in Brightspace of library technology visions. Part of the reason I made this so detailed is that I told the Assoc. Dean I would do this so we can get it to the proposal stage for the Dean. I suggest for this assignment (after reading others' visions), you just read the "Vision" and "Goals" section. Thank you, Mary
The University of Akron School of Law Library Technology Vision and Plan September, 2017
Mission of The University of Akron School of Law - The University of Akron School of Law promotes justice, the protection of individual liberty, and the rule of law through our commitment to excellence in teaching, scholarship, and service, and through our continuing commitment to expanding opportunities for legal education.
Vision for Technology in The University of Akron School of Law Library - In addition to the current technology offerings we have at the School of Law, we want to:
1. Create a Legal Technology Center in the Library which would allow us to partner with The University of Akron Law Legal Clinics, the School of Law Information Technology Department, the Akron Bar Association, Law skills courses and other organizations and courses of benefit to our law students.
2. Create a green room where students could create interactive access to justice tools, where faculty could record lectures for online courses, and where students could record themselves using courtroom technology in mock trials.
3. Create a basic courtroom technology cart to use in the green room that would include: (a) an Elmo, which is a document camera (also called a visual presenter) that is connected to a projector or interactive whiteboard to display an object or a document to a larger audience; (b) a computer; (c) An iPad or tablet; (d) An Apple TV, which is a digital media player and HDMI-compliant source device that receives digital data and streams it to a television or projector; (e) A projector; (f) Other portable technology hardware that would be useful in the green room or in a courtroom.
This courtroom technology cart could be used to teach students how to set up a mobile technology system for courtrooms without current technologies.
4. We would use the Legal Technology Center to offer workshops on:
(a) Learning basic document technology skills for lawyers including formatting for Word and Excel and protecting PDFs
(b) Using cloud based law practice management software (like Clio, a program developed by Themis Solutions, Inc.)
(c) Creating access to justice apps on Access to Justice Author (A2J Author), a cloud based software tool that enables non-technical authors from the courts, clerk’s offices, legal services organizations, and law schools to rapidly build and implement user friendly web-based interfaces for document assembly.
(d) Workshops can be for students, faculty, staff and area attorneys for Continuing Legal Education (CLE) credit.
Goals for the Technology Vision - The University of Akron School of Law is accredited by the American Bar Association (ABA). As an ABA accredited law school, we not only comply with all ABA standards, but we strive to educate our students to be excellent lawyers. One aspect of this goal is found in the ABA Model Rules of Professional Conduct, and specifically how technology fits into these rules. Not only must lawyers manage technology to protect their ability to access client files and guard the confidentiality of these files, but technology now has a role in providing competent representation to their clients.
In the ABA Model Rules of Professional Conduct: Rule 1.1 deals with lawyer competence, and states "A lawyer shall provide competent representation to a client. Competent representation requires the legal knowledge, skill, thoroughness and preparation reasonably necessary for the representation." To maintain this competence, as now set forth in Comment 6, lawyers should keep up with changes in the law and its practice, "including the benefits and risks associated with relevant technology."
By creating a Legal Technology Center in The University of Akron School of Law Library, we will be able to educate law students, faculty, and technology and library staff in the competent use of technology so our law graduates can best represent their clients and manage their careers as practicing attorneys.
Another goal is to help our law students become proficient in the use of Microsoft Office, specifically Word and Excel, and also proficient in the use of technology that is beneficial to attorneys in their practice and in the courtroom.
Assessment of Current Technology of the School of Law - The Information Technology (IT) Department at the School of Law provides adequate support for all the needs of the students, faculty and staff. With the renovation of the School of Law facilities in 2016-2017, all classrooms are now equipped with custom-built lecterns with local computers and technologies that allow lectures to be streamed to anywhere in the world through video conference software. Each seat in each classroom has a power outlet available for students to charge their devices. Classrooms have full access to the University’s wireless network. Each group study and seminar room has a 70-inch flat panel television and webcam to which a computer can be connected so a lecture may be streamed anywhere. These also give our students the ability to teleconference for mock interviews and negotiations practice. All classrooms have recording capabilities and ceiling speakers. The courtroom and two large classrooms in the new wing of the law school are fully-equipped as distant learning with multiple cameras and microphone systems. These rooms also have simulcasting capabilities to accommodate large events and student meetings. The Informational Technology Department staff is able to check on the technology operations from a single monitoring location in their department.
In addition to the new technology hardware and capabilities above, the law school has the following hardware and software available:
Hardware Audio and Visual Equipment – The IT Department has recording equipment available for use by faculty, staff, and students to record a class or for students to practice oral arguments to review afterwards. This equipment includes video cameras, microphones, MP3 recorders, digital cameras, a slide projector, and a stereo to play CDs or cassettes. Each of these can be requested and picked up from the IT office.
Computers – There are currently 35 desktop and 10 laptop computers available for use by students. All computers are equipped with drives that will accommodate DVDs, CDs, and MP3 media so they can be used with the Law Library’s Audio Visual collection. One desktop computer is equipped with a 27-inch touchscreen panel and is connected to a high speed microform reader with touch enabled software.
Student Copiers/Printers – Law students have access to 5 dedicated high capacity networked printers as well as 3 multifunction devices that allow for high speed printing, scanning, and copying. The students receive 50 free prints every semester and are able to print wirelessly from their laptops anywhere on campus.
Software Faculty/Staff/Administrator software – The law school offers most of the standard software such as Microsoft Office, Internet Explorer, and most Adobe products. It also allows all faculty and staff to be administrators on their own computers and install any program that may be beneficial to them. In addition, the law school has available the PeopleSoft university administrative program, WebEx video conferencing and online classes, Turning Technologies Audience Response System clicker student response system, Panopto Focus for audio recording lectures, Qualtrics survey tool and conference registration, Brightspace learning management system for online course companions, Raiser’s Edge/NetCommunity for development, SharePoint faculty intranet, McAfee Endpoint Encription/Security Software, Library Software including Sierra from Innovative Interfaces, CybraryN, and ILLIAD, and CLIO for legal case management software.
The University maintains a reliable network infrastructure for the law school. The University’s wireless network is robust and expands throughout every area of the school, including the library. Any person associated with The University of Akron can access the main wireless network. Additionally, there is a guest wireless network that is used for visitors to the building and campus. This has been put in place for security purposes and has the same coverage as our main university network.
Implementation Plan - We will review the implementation plan at least annually, and it may be updated at any time during the year. Priorities within the plan are subject to change as Law Library priorities change.
1. Review and approval of this technology vision by the Director of the Law library and the Dean of the Law School with directive to commence product research and develop a budget proposal.
2. Determine best location for the Legal Technology Center and plan for oversight by library staff
3. Product research and budget proposal: • Green Room - decide best location of green room; determine what we have already (lighting, video camera, etc.) in IT Department; determine best green screen (fabric, paper, paint) based on use and need for portability; determine costs
• Technology Cart – determine size and model of cart needed; determine cost
• Elmo – determine best model and accompanying tablet to purchase and if any additional accessories are needed; determine costs
For the items listed below, we would need to determine the best model for use with the other hardware and software and determine the cost of each:
• Computer (laptop)
• iPad or tablet
• Apple TV
• Projector
• Software needed – determine the best software needed; determine cost
• Other portable technology hardware that would be useful in the green room or in a courtroom – this can be determined during periodic reviews of this vision and as the vision is implemented
4. Purchase, donation, or grant funding for the Legal Technology Center including the green room and technology cart.
5. Determine policies for use of the Legal Technology Center and its contents.
6. Training of library and IT staff in use of all hardware and software so they may train faculty and students through workshops.
7. Development of workshops on specific topics as listed above.
Conclusion - Thank you for your interest in our technology vision for The University of Akron School of Law Library. We believe this vision will enhance the education of our law students, the teaching of our faculty, and the learning of our staff and attorneys in our community as they learn to use technology more effectively.
References
Eubanks, E. (2016). Computer Technology and Information Technology. Self-Study Document, The University of Akron School of Law, Information Technology.
Below is my Technology Vision and Plan based on the strategic goals shared with me by our Associate Dean and Director of The University of Akron School of Law Library. She sees technology as an important part of legal education and also legal practice. I have never done anything like this before, so I looked at all the examples posted in the Module 1 Content section. I apologize in advance if it is too long or detailed, but I tried to model it on the examples given in Brightspace of library technology visions. Part of the reason I made this so detailed is that I told the Assoc. Dean I would do this so we can get it to the proposal stage for the Dean. I suggest for this assignment (after reading others' visions), you just read the "Vision" and "Goals" section. Thank you, Mary
The University of Akron School of Law Library Technology Vision and Plan
September, 2017
Mission of The University of Akron School of Law - The University of Akron School of Law promotes justice, the protection of individual liberty, and the rule of law through our commitment to excellence in teaching, scholarship, and service, and through our continuing commitment to expanding opportunities for legal education.
Vision for Technology in The University of Akron School of Law Library - In addition to the current technology offerings we have at the School of Law, we want to:
1. Create a Legal Technology Center in the Library which would allow us to partner with The University of Akron Law Legal Clinics, the School of Law Information Technology Department, the Akron Bar Association, Law skills courses and other organizations and courses of benefit to our law students.
2. Create a green room where students could create interactive access to justice tools, where faculty could record lectures for online courses, and where students could record themselves using courtroom technology in mock trials.
3. Create a basic courtroom technology cart to use in the green room that would include: (a) an Elmo, which is a document camera (also called a visual presenter) that is connected to a projector or interactive whiteboard to display an object or a document to a larger audience; (b) a computer; (c) An iPad or tablet; (d) An Apple TV, which is a digital media player and HDMI-compliant source device that receives digital data and streams it to a television or projector; (e) A projector; (f) Other portable technology hardware that would be useful in the green room or in a courtroom.
This courtroom technology cart could be used to teach students how to set up a mobile technology system for courtrooms without current technologies.
4. We would use the Legal Technology Center to offer workshops on:
(a) Learning basic document technology skills for lawyers including formatting for Word and Excel and protecting PDFs
(b) Using cloud based law practice management software (like Clio, a program developed by Themis Solutions, Inc.)
(c) Creating access to justice apps on Access to Justice Author (A2J Author), a cloud based software tool that enables non-technical authors from the courts, clerk’s offices, legal services organizations, and law schools to rapidly build and implement user friendly web-based interfaces for document assembly.
(d) Workshops can be for students, faculty, staff and area attorneys for Continuing Legal Education (CLE) credit.
Goals for the Technology Vision - The University of Akron School of Law is accredited by the American Bar Association (ABA). As an ABA accredited law school, we not only comply with all ABA standards, but we strive to educate our students to be excellent lawyers. One aspect of this goal is found in the ABA Model Rules of Professional Conduct, and specifically how technology fits into these rules. Not only must lawyers manage technology to protect their ability to access client files and guard the confidentiality of these files, but technology now has a role in providing competent representation to their clients.
In the ABA Model Rules of Professional Conduct: Rule 1.1 deals with lawyer competence, and states "A lawyer shall provide competent representation to a client. Competent representation requires the legal knowledge, skill, thoroughness and preparation reasonably necessary for the representation." To maintain this competence, as now set forth in Comment 6, lawyers should keep up with changes in the law and its practice, "including the benefits and risks associated with relevant technology."
By creating a Legal Technology Center in The University of Akron School of Law Library, we will be able to educate law students, faculty, and technology and library staff in the competent use of technology so our law graduates can best represent their clients and manage their careers as practicing attorneys.
Another goal is to help our law students become proficient in the use of Microsoft Office, specifically Word and Excel, and also proficient in the use of technology that is beneficial to attorneys in their practice and in the courtroom.
Assessment of Current Technology of the School of Law - The Information Technology (IT) Department at the School of Law provides adequate support for all the needs of the students, faculty and staff. With the renovation of the School of Law facilities in 2016-2017, all classrooms are now equipped with custom-built lecterns with local computers and technologies that allow lectures to be streamed to anywhere in the world through video conference software. Each seat in each classroom has a power outlet available for students to charge their devices. Classrooms have full access to the University’s wireless network. Each group study and seminar room has a 70-inch flat panel television and webcam to which a computer can be connected so a lecture may be streamed anywhere. These also give our students the ability to teleconference for mock interviews and negotiations practice. All classrooms have recording capabilities and ceiling speakers. The courtroom and two large classrooms in the new wing of the law school are fully-equipped as distant learning with multiple cameras and microphone systems. These rooms also have simulcasting capabilities to accommodate large events and student meetings. The Informational Technology Department staff is able to check on the technology operations from a single monitoring location in their department.
In addition to the new technology hardware and capabilities above, the law school has the following hardware and software available:
Hardware
Audio and Visual Equipment – The IT Department has recording equipment available for use by faculty, staff, and students to record a class or for students to practice oral arguments to review afterwards. This equipment includes video cameras, microphones, MP3 recorders, digital cameras, a slide projector, and a stereo to play CDs or cassettes. Each of these can be requested and picked up from the IT office.
Computers – There are currently 35 desktop and 10 laptop computers available for use by students. All computers are equipped with drives that will accommodate DVDs, CDs, and MP3 media so they can be used with the Law Library’s Audio Visual collection. One desktop computer is equipped with a 27-inch touchscreen panel and is connected to a high speed microform reader with touch enabled software.
Student Copiers/Printers – Law students have access to 5 dedicated high capacity networked printers as well as 3 multifunction devices that allow for high speed printing, scanning, and copying. The students receive 50 free prints every semester and are able to print wirelessly from their laptops anywhere on campus.
Software
Faculty/Staff/Administrator software – The law school offers most of the standard software such as Microsoft Office, Internet Explorer, and most Adobe products. It also allows all faculty and staff to be administrators on their own computers and install any program that may be beneficial to them. In addition, the law school has available the PeopleSoft university administrative program, WebEx video conferencing and online classes, Turning Technologies Audience Response System clicker student response system, Panopto Focus for audio recording lectures, Qualtrics survey tool and conference registration, Brightspace learning management system for online course companions, Raiser’s Edge/NetCommunity for development, SharePoint faculty intranet, McAfee Endpoint Encription/Security Software, Library Software including Sierra from Innovative Interfaces, CybraryN, and ILLIAD, and CLIO for legal case management software.
The University maintains a reliable network infrastructure for the law school. The University’s wireless network is robust and expands throughout every area of the school, including the library. Any person associated with The University of Akron can access the main wireless network. Additionally, there is a guest wireless network that is used for visitors to the building and campus. This has been put in place for security purposes and has the same coverage as our main university network.
Implementation Plan - We will review the implementation plan at least annually, and it may be updated at any time during the year. Priorities within the plan are subject to change as Law Library priorities change.
1. Review and approval of this technology vision by the Director of the Law library and the Dean of the Law School with directive to commence product research and develop a budget proposal.
2. Determine best location for the Legal Technology Center and plan for oversight by library staff
3. Product research and budget proposal: • Green Room - decide best location of green room; determine what we have already (lighting, video camera, etc.) in IT Department; determine best green screen (fabric, paper, paint) based on use and need for portability; determine costs
• Technology Cart – determine size and model of cart needed; determine cost
• Elmo – determine best model and accompanying tablet to purchase and if any additional accessories are needed; determine costs
For the items listed below, we would need to determine the best model for use with the other hardware and software and determine the cost of each:
• Computer (laptop)
• iPad or tablet
• Apple TV
• Projector
• Software needed – determine the best software needed; determine cost
• Other portable technology hardware that would be useful in the green room or in a courtroom – this can be determined during periodic reviews of this vision and as the vision is implemented
4. Purchase, donation, or grant funding for the Legal Technology Center including the green room and technology cart.
5. Determine policies for use of the Legal Technology Center and its contents.
6. Training of library and IT staff in use of all hardware and software so they may train faculty and students through workshops.
7. Development of workshops on specific topics as listed above.
Conclusion - Thank you for your interest in our technology vision for The University of Akron School of Law Library. We believe this vision will enhance the education of our law students, the teaching of our faculty, and the learning of our staff and attorneys in our community as they learn to use technology more effectively.
References
Eubanks, E. (2016). Computer Technology and Information Technology. Self-Study Document, The University of Akron School of Law, Information Technology.
Filisko, G. M. (2013, April 1). Reality bytes: New ABA rules require you to get with the tech program--like it or not. Retrieved from ABA Journal April 2013: http://www.abajournal.com/magazine/article/new_aba_rules_require_you_to_get_with_tech_programlike_it_or_not
Mermelstein, L. D. (2013, March). American Bar Association Business Law Today. Retrieved September 2, 2017, from American Bar Association: https://www.americanbar.org/publications/blt/2013/03/keeping_current.html
Staff. (n.d.). Welcome to A2J Author. Retrieved September 2, 2017, from a2j Author: https://www.a2jauthor.org/
The University of Akron School of Law Faculty. (n.d.). Mission Statement and Learning Outcomes. Retrieved September 2, 2017, from The University of Akron School of Law: http://www.uakron.edu/law/curriculum/mission-and-learning-outcomes